Soccer Game Preview: Oviedo vs. Merritt Island

The Oviedo Lions will take on the Merritt Island Mustangs in a holiday battle at at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Oviedo is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last five games.

Merritt Island better have a healthy lead at halftime, because if last week is any indication, that's when Oviedo really get things going. Oviedo blew past Winter Springs 5-1 on Wednesday. Considering the Lions have won five games by more than two goals this season, Wednesday's blowout was nothing new.

They hit Winter Springs with a four-pronged attack, as the team got scores from Ellison Ruffin (2), Alexzander Pavlovic, Jackson Sloane, and Blake Bertot.

Despite a strong season so far, Merritt Island has seen their luck take a bit of a downturn recently. They took a 2-0 hit to the loss column at the hands of Heritage on Tuesday. That's two games in a row now that the Mustangs have lost by exactly two goals.

Oviedo pushed their record up to 8-2-1 with the win, which was their fourth straight on the road. Those victories came thanks to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they scored 21 goals over those four contests. As for Merritt Island, their loss ended a four-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 6-3-1.

Everything went Oviedo's way against Merritt Island when the teams last played back in December of 2023, as Oviedo made off with a 5-0 victory. Will Oviedo repeat their success, or does Merritt Island have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.